


A Darker Shade of Red

by misura



Category: Priest (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captivity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28610397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Priest ends up Black Hat's prisoner on the train. (canon divergent AU)
Relationships: Black Hat/Priest (Priest 2011)
Kudos: 6
Collections: Small Fandoms Fest





	A Darker Shade of Red

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArtAngst (Howland)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howland/gifts).



> prompt: _Black Hat/Priest, I know you hate me but I can change all that_

"I know you hate me," the man who had died at Sola Mira said. "I know you think that I'm something you need to kill."

_I dream about you almost every night,_ he considered saying, but it would be admitting to a weakness - of the spirit and the body both.

He _was_ weak, of course. All those times in the confession booth: what difference were a handful of Hail Mary's and Our Fathers going to make to the fact that he'd let go, that he hadn't been strong enough?

"You think I'm something rotten and evil and corrupt," the thing that looked like a man wearing a black hat said, "but I can change all that. You'll see. I'll make you see."

He looked around the cage. "Well. All I can say is, you're certainly off to a great start."

(He remembered that laugh and the man who had laughed like that, even when his sense of humor had never been that good, and even when there really hadn't been anything to laugh at.)

He tried to keep track of time somehow. That was important, would be important, if he ever got out of here. There were stops: places where they took on new vampires.

Or places where the vampires needed to feed. He tried not to think of that possibility.

A vampire could go a long time without feeding. It might grow weaker, but it wouldn't die. Thus, the reservations. A way to keep control, rather than risk some hive going into hiding - or so it had been explained to them.

"My familiars say the way you look at them makes them uncomfortable," the abomination that walked and spoke like a man said. "Can you believe that?"

"Perhaps it's the realization that they have chosen the wrong side in this war that makes them uncomfortable."

The monster scoffed. "You think this is going to be a war?"

"Yes," he said. "We beat your kind once. We can do it again."

"With what? No, wait, I remember. Hard work. Daily labor. Blind faith. That sort of thing? Oh, I know what it's like in the Cities. I've been there," - a flash of teeth, and he could picture it now: this thing, walking around, a wolf among the sheep, waiting, wandering, following some unfortunate soul into a dark alleyway from which only one of them would emerge.

Officially, there was no crime in the Cities. No murder, no theft. To obey the Church was to be safe.

"You're beginning to see it, don't you? The lies," his personal demon said. "Or maybe you've always seen them. You're not an idiot, after all. You're just weak. Human."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "What is it you hope to accomplish? You must know that I will never join you."

"Well, maybe I'm not like you," the thing with the black hat said. "If you fall, I won't let go. I'll catch you, and I'll hold on to you. No matter what. You can curse me, you can beg me, and it won't make a lick of difference. You see, unlike you, I care. My faith is still strong."

_My faith is still strong, too,_ he wanted to say, but couldn't, because he _had_ let go. He'd tried not to, and he'd told himself that it hadn't been his fault, and he'd never been able to believe it.

They still brought him meals, the familiars who he was supposed to be making uncomfortable. He knew better than to expect to be able to convince them to return to the fold of mankind. They'd made their choice, and there could be no turning back for them.

He wondered if he would have the strength to kill himself if it came to that.

Some nights he still had the dream. It seemed unfair, though perhaps it was a sign from God, a message that all of this was nothing less than he deserved for his sins. Looked at it from that point of view, it certainly felt more appropriate than a handful of prayers, repeated time and time again, until the words almost felt meaningless, empty repetitions.

"You ever think about what happened?" Black Hat asked. "Or did you just decide to forget?"

He considered lying. Lying to a member of the Church was a sin. "I remember," he said.

"Funny how things work out, huh?" Black Hat said. "If you hadn't let go, I'd never have become what I am today. All of this - you made it happen. You. How does that make you feel?"

"I am not responsible for your atrocities," he said.

Black Hat sniffed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. But we both know the truth, don't we?"

"The truth that you have become a monster, an abomination?" he asked.

Black Hat sniffed again. "You should hear what they're saying about you in the Cities. You see, to them, we're not so different, you and I. They used us, and when they were done, they tossed us out. And now - now they're scared, because they realize that when you treat people like trash, sometimes they fight back. Sometimes, actions have consequences. You know all about that, don't you?"

He remembered trying to hold on, the expression on the other man's face. The fear. He remembered promising himself to not let go, to drag this one person out of here alive. He'd been in charge; he'd made the decision to push on, to obey orders.

"I failed you," he said. Too little and too late, and he knew it changed nothing. "For that, I am and will always be deeply and profoundly sorry."

Black Hat stared at him. "Well. I guess that's something."

He swallowed. It was tempting, to look at Black Hat and see a man he'd once known and been proud to call brother, to sleep and eat and fight beside.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, we're about the stop for lunch." Black Hat checked a pocket watch. "Or dinner, I guess. Not that it makes much of a difference."

The train was beginning to slow down. He considered pleading, appealing to whatever was still human.

"You can't save them, you know." Black Hat had already turned away, moving towards the door. "Hell, you couldn't even save me. One person. I told you, didn't I? I warned you, and you kept going anyway. Orders."

"If you - " he said, and Black Hat paused. He put his hands on the bar of the cage. The metal felt cold, strong. "Spare the people of this town, and I'll - "

Black Hat's eyes were yellow. Animal eyes. Not soulless, but wild, dangerous.

"Careful," Black Hat said. "Don't go making promises you can't keep, now."

"Spare their lives, so that I know you're still you," he said. "That you're more than a puppet, some empty shell with no will of its own."

"You're not even going to say 'please'?" Black Hat asked. "I'm disappointed."

He licked his lips. "Please."

Black Hat stepped back towards the cage. His expression was - _hungry_. "Again."

"Please. I beg of you." _Prove to me that you're a monster. Prove to me that you are beyond redemption. Prove to me that there is nothing left for me to save._

"All right," Black Hat said. "Fine. Happy?"

_No. God. Please. Must You place this burden on me?_ He forced himself to say, "Thank you."

Black Hat grunted. "I better go tell the troops the bad news. They're not gonna be happy."

The train started picking up speed again. He expected Black Hat to come back, to press his advantage, to demand payment, but Black Hat remained gone.

He told himself it was a relief. He had been tempted and remained virtuous. He had given up nothing except perhaps his pride, and in doing so, he had saved an entire town. Hundreds of people.

The door opened and he turned, alert, but it was only a familiar.

"Master wants you for dinner," it said, giggling.

_If only that were true,_ he thought, allowing the familiar to guide him. _If only things were as simple as that._

"Roast duck," Black Hat said. "You ever had real roast duck?"

"Can't say that I have," he said, lifting the fork to his lips. Black Hat wasn't going to poison him. He chewed slowly, aware of Black Hat watching him, aware of the absurdity of the situation. "Hm. It's good. Very good."

Black Hat nodded, looking pleased. "Try the wine. Not the sort of stuff they use for communion."

"You're not having any yourself?"

Black Hat shrugged, smiled. "I don't drink ... wine."

_No. I didn't think you did._ "Pity. You're missing out."

Black Hat bared his teeth. "Aren't you Mr Nice and Polite all of a sudden?"

"We had a deal," he said. "You held up your end of it, so I'm holding up mine."

Black Hat grunted and poured something not wine into his wine glass. "So how do you think this is going to go from here on out? What do you think's going to happen when we reach the next town, and the one after that?"

"You tell me. You invited me here."

Black Hate swirled the red liquid in his glass and took a sip. "You know what I want."

"I will not become your familiar," he said.

"I don't need another goddamned familiar," Black Hat said. "The ones I have are worthless, anyway. Gifts from the Queen. You - you could be like me. The best of both worlds."

_I'd rather die than become like you._ "I must politely decline. Anything else?"

Black Hat looked at him. His lips were wet. His wine glass was empty. "Well, now, that's not very nice, is it? Here I am, going to all this trouble to show you a good time, and you're going to be like that?"

There was a knife on the table. He'd used it to cut the duck. Picking it up, he wondered - well, too late now, probably. "Give me your glass."

Black Hat held it out.

Refilling it was easy. The pain barely registered, and it was a shallow cut anyway. Once it was about three quarters full, he handed back the glass.

"Gonna take more than a little blood to save the next town," Black Hat said, but he sounded unsure, taken aback. Surprised. More human than monster.

He swallowed. This man - monster - whatever Black Hat was now, he'd been a friend, once. A comrade. "I'm open to other suggestions. Within reason."

Black Hat sipped, maintaining eye contact. "All right. That sounds a bit more like it."

_My blood is in that glass._ He wondered what it would feel like if Black Hat chose to have his next drink directly from the source, to submit to being treated like cattle, food.

"Relax," Black Hat said, as if reading his mind. "I won't bite."

"Won't you?"

Black Hat grinned. "Guess we're gonna find out soon enough."


End file.
